Daniel Joseph Moore, the baby sitter found guilty last month of raping three young boys, was sentenced this morning to three back-to-back life sentences for his aggravated rape convictions.

Daniel Joseph MooreMoore, 33, greeted the court Thursday with a toothless smile, jutting his head like a bird to look fleetingly at the people in the court -- the judge, prosecutors and those in gallery. Similar to the three-day trial in state Judge Allison Penzato's courtroom, there was a disconnect between Moore's child-like physique, weighing only about 130 pounds, and the severity of his crimes.

Assistant District Attorney Scott Gardner said that victims and their family member did not wish to give statements at the sentencing, and they were not present in the courtroom. Moore regularly baby-sat many children in his neighborhood, largely for free, according to testimony.

The trailer Moore shared with his mother, behind the North Shore Square mall on Cherry Street in the Slidell area, was a hangout for neighborhood boys, according to testimony. At times, he had more than 15 children under his supervision, authorities said.

During the September trial, his public defense attorneys, Kevin McNary and William Alford, attempted to paint him as childlike, hoping to partially explain his constant association with children.

The repeated rape of the three boys, between 5 and 11 years old, spanned about a decade, from at least 1996 until his arrest in 2004, authorities said.

For about one year, between 2003 and 2004, Moore was a substitute assistant janitor for the St. Tammany Parish public school system and in that position he occasionally worked at the Slidell area elementary schools the victims attended.

He stopped working for the school system after the rape allegations came to light in May 2004. That substitute janitor position was the only job Moore has ever held, according to his mother's testimony.